The Untold TRAGIC Story of RC Cola 

RC tastes so much better Than Coke and Pepsi... when I was a kid in the 70's we would look for RC bottle caps on the streets of the Bronx because under the seal of the cap many had $0.25 cents, 2 caps got you a FREE 10oz bottle of RC Cola which was $0.35 cents and $0.15 cents change back... which usually went towards bazooka. A few months ago we lost a cousin in New Jersey and all of us after services met at a local Irish pub I was driving a long way back home so ordered a coke and the bartender say's is RC okay...? I and my cousins looked at each other we were in shock and happy and told the bartender yes it's preferred ...and what a sign that was for us... This Irish Pub has RC cola on Tap!

Oh the memories RC brings back! I grew up in the middle of nowhere near a major highway. All us kids would ride our bikes 5 or so miles to a motel to get sodas and candies from the shady motel owner named 'boots' he sold the candy inside but the sodas were in an ancient vending machine outside, the kind that had a long thin door and once you put in your quarter you would yank a bottle out. All us kids had quarters with a hole drilled in it with fishing line, worked half the time. He also would let us swim in the pool for like 50 cents. Nobody ever stayed at this motel, of course it was next door to an equally shady bar where one could find match books in the parking lot with 'risque' pictures on them. Being 8 years old I never made the connection lol. But those RC's were the best, big ice cold glass bottles filled with massive carbonation, great for some serious belching. The early seventies were a great time to grow up!

Nothing better than a RC and a Moon Pie. Brings back childhood memories.

Keep an eye out for RC at Dollar stores in addition to Walmart sometimes you can find it cheaper at a dollar store in a 2 L bottle for $1.25 or less. My dad grew up in Mississippi and when I was a kid and we were out on the road together he would stop and give me an RC Cola and a moon pie and I thought that was just the greatest thing in the world

I turn 52 in five days and this guy said the word "thus" more in under ten minutes than I have in my whole life.

As teenagers in the mid 1960`s my best friend and I would find enough empty bottles to get a RC Cola and Hostess cherry pie. We`d split the pie and each drink half the RC on our way home. He died a few years later in Vietnam and I still remember how good those RC`s tasted back then.

I absolutely loved RC Cola as a kid in the 70s. It was better than Coca Cola, IMO. I truly wish that I could buy myself a few cases! Such a tale of ignorance and stupidity! I FOUND RC TODAY AT A MARKET BASKET IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!!! Got a 12 pack!!! I couldn't believe it!! Thanks all for the input. It was greatly appreciated!! I'm sipping my RC right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂

I remember the late 1960's, I'd come home from school and buy an RC Cola at Fran's candy store. It was 16 ounces, cost less than coke and had bottle caps with prizes underneath the cap. I won 25 cents, I won a free soda once in a while too. It was the best cola around!

I have RC in my fridge...I prefer the taste. And in my area it is half the price.

In 1965 as a 7-year-old kid I walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and saw that there was no bottle of RC cola in the frig. So I went to the basement and brought a 1-quart glass bottle up. My 9-year-old sister was in the kitchen and watched me walk over to the drawer and get a bottle cap opener. As I was taking the cap off the bottle she was telling me that I shouldn't be... story of my life. The heavy ass bottle slipped out of my hand and dropped straight to the floor in slow motion. It landed flat and immediately vomited the entire contents of the bottle straight up. My mom walked in to find my sister and me laughing hysterically and RC cola dripping off the ceiling. Thinking back now I applauded her restraint.

I changed from Coke to RC Cola a good while back and love it.

As a kid in the '70s, we loved the 16 ounce bottle of RC. Why? They had "Cash for Crowns." If you peeled the rubber stopper under the bottle cap, there was a chance to win $1.00! For a kid, that was some buck! Of course they had 10 cent, 25 cent and 50 cent prizes. (If you lost, it would say "keep looking" lol). But dang it was fun being with friends and if you got the $1 prize, you were boss! Unfortunately, we all lived in the "projects" and the local RC bottling company was right next door. So the big kids would go jump the fence and take the bottle caps off or loaded RC trucks. They finally electrified the fence but the big kids would still find a truck being off-loaded unguarded at a local stores. Oh well. I loved RC and their 16 ounce bottle was a treat for a small kid. Still a vivid memory.

Hey! RC will never die. In fact, went grocery shopping at Fred Meyer, Bought 3 cases of RC, and had a reunion drinking it, and it still tastes great. RC will never die nor will it ever get beaten up by other sodas. LONG LIVE RC COLA.

Back in the 60's RC was my favorite soda. My aunt would buy 8 packs of 16 ounce bottles. We would go down to the hotdog stand get a hotdog and fries for $1 and sit in the backyard with our RC in hand. Those were the days!

Who remembers the song “Me And My RC”? I loved RC Cola as a kid in the 70s. As a lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers fan, RC Cola used to have a different Dodger player on their cans. I always bought the Ron Cey can.

As a young teen in the 60/70's I was called The RC Kid. I collected everything RC I could my hands on. The back of my bedroom door I had painted a mural of the "New" RC logo as it had just changed it. I had several different RC bottle styles that also had changed. I bought a large wall clock after mowing yards and saving up my allowance. EVERYTHING was RC... I drank a 6 pack everyday in High school. In So. Calif back then, many of us were wearing Army jackets and I would slip an open bottle in the front pocket with a piece of tubing running up my sleeve towards my mouth and sip on RC all day being careful not to dump over the open bottle. As along as I stood up, or kept my sleeve tucked into the pocket just right it worked great. Sort of a 70's Camelpak... At the end of my 11th grade I was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer and that end my career as The RC Kid. Years later, after sharing that story with my young son, he started drinking Dr. Pepper which ended up becoming him drinking any/all surgery drinks, but especially RED BULL and Starbucks coffee. Then after years of foolishly following in his old man's footsteps he got sick and had part of his colon removed due do all the crap he had poisoned himself with (sorry son, if I had only known we would have drunk ONLY water). Anyway.... I found collecting RC stuff fun. I have no idea what became of all of it, but my old friends and family still talk/laugh about the good old times and The RC Kid days. Lastly, the last time I had one I couldn't finish it as it was way to sweet!!! Moral of the story.... drink ONLY pure, clean water!!!

Back in the EARLY 60'S. My parents bowled in a league on Monday nights. My two brothers and I walked about a quarter mile to a store. We were each given $2 for dinner. We each bought our own can of Bean and Bacon soup and a bottle of RC cola. We walked home and took turns heating our soup (never togrether). And we had our RC Cola. We loved it.

I used to drink RC all the time, and we still get it where I live. Always liked it. now I tend to drink more beer than soft drinks.

I'm only 36 and I love RC Cola. It's like a perfect cross of coke and Pepsi, plus the nostalgia that comes with it from mom sending me over to the gas station to get one and to call grandma collect on a pay phone to see when grandpa was coming to get us. I miss the early 90s so much, things were so much better back then. Except for when dad you come home drunk and beat mom, but grandpa shot dad in the leg and we left, never going back....

I remember as a kid in the 80's my mom and I were in a grocery store that was having a blind taste test with Coke, Pepsi & RC. We both picked RC and so did every other person that did the test when we were there. Years later as an adult working in music venues downtown, I learned that the real foodie type, craft bartenders all preferred to have RC on tap to use in their cocktails.

I grew up with RC Cola used to love getting one with a bag of salted peanuts back in the good old days

As a kid I remember RC Cola and I used to love RC Cola. And then it just went away it just disappeared almost like overnight. And the same thing with A&W these were staples in the south that you couldn’t go 5 miles without seeing an RC cola sign or seeing an A&W or old-school stuff like that. I miss those days

“AND THUS”…. “AND THUS”…

Growing up near NYC, RC Cola was a fountain drink staple in just about every pizza joint...there was just something right about eating a pizza and washing it down with some RC Cola and it almost enhanced the taste of the pizza.

I remember in 1985, when New Coke was introduced, people HATED it ... and many of us switched to RC Cola during that time. But then Coke came back with Classic Coke, and RC Cola got bumped to the end of the line again. When I was young, there was an expression, we'd tell the clerk at the store, "I'll have an RC and a Moon Pie!"

I loved RC Cola in the 70's. I remember when they had prizes under the bottle caps. My dad figured out that winning bottle-caps had a slightly different color, so we only bought those and won every time.

I’ve bought RC at my local supermarket until very recently. It was sold with 7up, Canada Dry ginger ale and Dad’s root beer. I thought the 7up company bought it. However I don’t know why it’s not currently being stocked. We prefer it over Coke or Pepsi.

I've liked RC since the 70's. It's been a couple years, because I hardly ever drink soda anymore, but every once in a while, I see one, memories return and get it.

I remember RC being so ubiquitous and popular during the 1960s and even the 70s and, yeah, it was among the very best in my opinion. I find it very infrequently today but I still always buy it when I see it!

I try to buy almost all the RC 2-liters at my local Walmart, which was still sold for $1 a bottle until recently. If people laugh, I'm old enough to know what I like. I've even had cyclamate while travelling in Europe. I'm thankful RC is so easy to find around me, and inexpensive too. At the same time, Coke is inventing new artificial flavors and charging through the nose for them. I don't want that.

RC has always been my favorite. It is not as acidic as Coke, and not as sweet as Pepsi. It is the perfect balance, that is until I moved overseas. The local bottlers here make some kind of Frankenstein Monster with both sugars, and artificial sweeteners making it much sweeter giving it that horrid diet taste and after taste.

I loved the ad campaign "Me and My RC". One of the best ever.

When I was a kid, we had a local restaurant that served only RC Cola fountain drinks with their coneys and onion rings. It went great together and was worth the heartburn

RC is the only cola I drink, it's getting harder and harder to find, but in my opinion, it is far and away the best cola on the market

I grew up drinking RC before Coke,Dr. Pepper or Pepsi. It used to be common to see RC Cola in convienence store fountain drinks. I first drank it out of glass bottles,those memories!

All I drank as a Kid till it disappeared. Hell I remember when these all came in glass bottles and not plastic. RC and Shasta.

There is an old country store near my grandparents place in Alabama that sells RC cola in glass bottles and even cherry RC occasionally. Much like my grandparents I find RC most enjoyable with a moon pie!

Just because of this video, later today I am going to buy some RC cola. It is found pretty much everywhere here in Florida. Update: I just finished my last can of RC Cola from the 18 pack, and I will be buying more. I am officially an RC buyer now. 😁

even as a kid in the early 90s R.C was still around in a big way but it was seen as "the poor kids soda" LoL i actually remember buying cans of RC for 35 cents from vending machines when Coke was either 85 cents or a 1$ ... damn i feel old :P

I remember drinking RC back in the 80's. It was very good. It's sad that they suffered from the shady business practices of owners and competitors. I've been drinking ginger ale since I was a teenager. Thank you.

I vividly remember my mother telling me, not asking me, to go to the local store and get her a bag of potato chips and an RC Cola (bottle). She'd give me .35 - The Chips were .10c. The RC was .15c and I got .10c for candy. I was 7 years old.

RC used to be my favorite soda! I would ALWAYS choose it over Coke or Pepsi.

we have it in New Zealand as Royal Crown Draft Cola and the Australian company Bundaburg is contracted to bottle it. Its pretty nice and not even sold in Australian stores but only at their Bundaburg factory in Aus. I read this in Wikipedia

I remember not liking RC cola as a kid. But there’s a nostalgic part of me that would like to try one now and see if my tastebuds have changed. Lol

I still grab an RC Cola 2 liter at Walmart every once and a while. It's good but not exactly as it used to be in my opinion. But still close enough to hit the nostalgia of getting it as a kid. Interesting video on my favorite way to be different with soda.

I grew up with RC . And still drink it . My father work for RC. Until the plant closed down .

As high school sweethearts my girl and I would cruise our small Minnesota town on date night sharing a R - C. I did my best to convince her the R was for Russ and the C stood for Carolyn. More than 50 years later all the grand kids know the story and can find some R C in the fridge.

I recently had a birthday party for my daughter. I smoked two briskets and a few pork shoulders. Scratch made sides, desserts, the whole nine yards. I bought some RC Cola for refreshments. I got more comments and stories of memories on the RC Cola than compliments on anything else. Hilarious.

I grew up on the 16 oz bottles of RC Cola. Today, Dr Pepper sells it's latest version with high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar. Now I drink HEB cola with real sugar. Jones Cola was the closest to RC in taste.

Video: RC Cola. Me, a racing fan: "NASCAR, Jeremy Mayfield."

Let’s play the “Thus” drinking game. Great video! Lots of RC cola history

Why are we talking like RC is extinct? Saw a ton of it on shelf at the local IGA today. I still love it, especially Cherry RC.

Grew up with coke first then RC then Pepsi. I still love Pepsi today but I do miss RC. As well as Nehi, Dad's old fashioned Root Beer and the best root beer ever A&W in wax coated cone shapped containers.

Coca-Cola probably bought off that judge on the ruling that the word "cola" was proprietary. Cola is a plant genus, the seeds of which are used to derive caffeine.

Interesting video and frustrating history. I remember RC was a big deal. There were even vending machines with RC as the featured drink. My parents drank Diet Rite regularly. Royal Crown, Diet Rite and Nehi were as popular as anything else.

I worked at a pizza shop in the 80's and we had RC products, I would bring home an RC Cola and pizza to my future wife after work when she was only 15. We still agree RC Cola was the best!

I always found RC Cola as a refreshing alternative to Pepsi and Coca Cola. No doubt those two companies have the lions share of the cola market, but, I think I'm one of the very few people in my social circle that prefers the taste of RC over Coke and Pepsi... And for my money, I think RC makes the absolute best Cherry Cola! Cherry RC tastes so much better than Pepsi or Coke, IMO...

Just a sidenote: I have a friend that works a bit high up in Walmart. He said that when Covid got going, online sales went up about 20%. Even now, with Covid receding, Online sales are now around 35% and Sill is Climbing. Walmart along with Target and most other stores. Walmart is totally revamping to better capture these emerging markets. Because of all this, it may soon be much easier to order and have delivered RC Cola along with other products that don't have huge advertizing budgets. The bad part: some products will have a small delay because they will need to be brought in from a regional warehouse. And... Walmart was bad enough with Kamikaze disability carts, and now, those Fulfilment employees dragging around huge rolling shelves. Be careful!

I am 56. I always prefered RC even way back in the early 1970s. My teeth, fillings and all agree.

I remember as a kid, we'd go to the local bakery/deli. We could get a huge bottle of RC cola, a loaf of homemade bread and a lb of wax baloney for under 5 bucks. RC brings back memories of when life was good.

In the mid 1960’s, in Middleburg Heights Ohio, I could see a double feature at the movie theater for 35 cents, and afterwards, visit the RC Cola stand across the street. I got a hamburger, fries and RC Cola for 19 cents. Then walked the 5 miles back home before dark set in.

Oh yes please a RC and a moon pie please. Thank You .

RC was always my favorite, especially their Cherry Coke.

My Uncle’s favorite soft drink. Drank a lot his RC Cola in the 1960’s.

RC cola is still in production, they also make Countrytime lemonade. I would buy the soda & lemonade for 10 cents a can in the 90s

Dang I forgot what RC taste like. We use to get RC back in the 80's bc it was cheaper to buy than Coke. Imma have to go find some RC today. ✌️

I still see RC at Walmart & a few other stores. It tastes better than Coke and Pepsi. Long live RC Cola!!!

I have it in my fridge too.Like others say in the comments,it fits right between coke and Pepsi.Not to sweet,not too harsh. If they had better marketing, or any at all it can make a comeback.

I remember the jingle "Me and My RC. Me and my RC. What's good enough for other folk, ain't good enough for me. " I still buy it when I can find it. But I NEVER see it advertised.

I grew up on RC, and I feel the "look under liner" giveaway should have at least gotten a mention. sadly, in a hidden tragedy, one of the side effects of COVID was that RC now tastes bitter to me.

RC is my favorite. Still drink it today.

As a kid, I was a big fan of Royal Crown Cola, aka RC Cola, and their Nehi Strawberry soda. The latter stained one's mouth red for a limited span of time. They were both noted for being more 'gassy' than other soft drinks. That means it was easier to work up belches for entertainment purposes...

When we were about 12 years old they had that prizes under the bottle cap thing going on, we discovered that the darker red caps were the ones with prizes under them, we would go in the store and go though every bottle and compare and could always pick the winners. We would usually get 10 or 25 cent prizes but sometimes a free bottle or 1 dollar which you could buy an 6 pack for, so then we'd pick all the winners and have an 6 pack with all winners. Bottles had a 10 cent deposit so it worked out to free RC cola most of the time and sometimes we made a profit. We were actually getting paid to drink soda!

I'm getting on and couldn't tell you the year.....85 is best guess. RC couldn't buy a break. They'd try to put large displays in the stores, have sales events, etc....only to go into these grocery stores and see not their displays set up but rather walking in seeing coke and Pepsi set up. The lack of success was done by more than what was depicted here. I think it was a 60 Minutes story. I can remember it so well because I always have bought RC instead of the others since I saw that. Still do!

Drank RC as a kid growing up in Tucson, 1958-1968! I still look for it in stores!

Such a tragic story and experience for a product that really was special, it had a truly unique taste and was great, now even Pepsi don't taste the way it use to taste and coke remained stable in their taste and though Pepsi is known to outsell coke world wide coke still has a consistent taste across the world where as Pepsi has lost its original taste and continue to decline in their taste. We certainly need another RC cola to fill the alternate spot between coke and Pepsi.

From 95 to 05 I lived in Paducah Kentucky and my childhood friend's dad worked for RC. Her dad gave me two case of Sundrop every week and to this day I'm still a Sundrop drinker

Here in Chicago we still can't get enough of that stuff! Just pairs so well with pizza and/or a Polish

loved RC Draft as a kid in the 90s.

When I was a kid, I liked RC better than Coke or Pepsi. But my favorite soda was Nehi, especially grape but the orange was great! They also had a pineapple soda which was really popular in Texas, where it gets really hot.

I’m in the UK. I’m English. Never been to America. Yet RC cola and a Moon Pie is my favourite combo. I literally pay a fortune every month to have these delivered to my door 😂👍

I am 62, and this is what I drank growing up. However, I switched to Coke when I was 20.

I can’t find it everywhere but dollar general always has it and some gas stations do. It’s so nostalgic and still good. It says me and my RC on the can now.

My wife and I absolutely love Diet Rite. Whenever I go to the store I buy as many 12 pack cans I can, they are very hard to come by.

Growing up in GA. We loved RC Cola

I used to drink it because they had a deal with a fast food restaurant in my state. Now I guess that seems hard to imagine but they were relatively well known at the time.

It was a staple during our summer visits to Cave City Kentucky. I looked forward to it.

I still drink RC Cola all the time. I just like how it tastes. I never knew they owned nehi also. I remember drinking it when I was really little. They had cherry, grape and orange. I loved the cherry flavor and wish they still had it.

About 20 years ago (around 2002) I went to US-36 Raceway in Osborne, Missouri.... they had 2 kinds of drinks... RC and Diet RC.

Nothing killed RC cola in my opinion Pepsi's flat and taste like sugar stick Coca-Cola well there's only so much of that s*** I can drink but RC I can crack open and enjoy every time like it is my first time RC holds number one in my heart 💯💯💯💯💯

I could see RC make a huge comeback soon. And it's quite simple. Take a look at prices. RC is significantly cheaper and tastes so much better than any of the off brands or store brands. So price is going to be so much different, we could see their sales explode as people are looking to save money now.

What decline I buy rc all the time

They used to push this stuff super hard in on WWF Raw back in the late 90s, I finally got a bottle and was thoroughly disappointed.

I Love RC Cola, and still buy and Drink it today, 10/1/2022. Go to any Big Food Store to Buy Some. It taste Great, better than Coke.

I still drink RC. In fact, I had one just last night. I'm glad they still sell it, it's one of my favorites. :)

*Stopped drinking sodas & beer 10 years ago... Now I'm RICH from all the $$$ I saved & I'm Healthier/Handsome as ever, STUDmeister...*

When I was young, and we would go to the lake as a family. It was always a treat to get Royal Crown Cola. (RC Cola)

Still today Rc cola contains Real sugar in its ingredients list...

RC Cola and a moon pie... it was a traditional after school snack🇺🇸💯

There is a gas station/convenience store not far from where I live. RC is sold by the can, there. I occasionally buy one. Not bad for a soda that's always seemed to stand in 3rd place behind Coke and Pepsi. (I prefer Pepsi.) I always wonder why it seems to be so random and not as successful as the other 2, or other sodas, even. There was even an episode of "All In The Family" featuring RC, because Mike dug it. He always called it by it's full name of Royal Crown Cola. He got into a dispute with Gloria because he claimed he could tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi and RC. In a precursor to the taste test commercials of the early 80's, Edith brought out 3 cups of unmarked soda: Coke, Pepsi and RC. She told Gloria which was which. Mike tasted each and correctly pointed out which was which. I don't know if this was based on personal opinions of Norman Lear or Rob Reiner, or if either could correctly taste the differences between these 3 sodas, or if it was entirely fictional. Point is, RC got that shout out, and Coke and Pepsi also, albeit to a lesser extent.